I was holding out for reviews before picking which unit to go with, but since the Vive is Valve backed, and the Rift seems to be harvesting data on users (and lacks controllers/cameras), it made the decision pretty easy.

Can't wait to get it! super pumped (I love being single again and not needing to clear these types of purchases lol)

I'd be thrilled if they would actually ship mine. Feel pretty skipped over. Had my pre-order in not a minute after they officially opened. <2 minute orders for both Vive and the Rift and I still don't have either. First world problems, I guess.

I'd be thrilled if they would actually ship mine. Feel pretty skipped over. Had my pre-order in not a minute after they officially opened. <2 minute orders for both Vive and the Rift and I still don't have either. First world problems, I guess.

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Sorry to hear that. I live in California and got my package on the 5th. Which state do you live in?

Got mine setup and tried it for a couple hours last night. Pretty amazing stuff. My big complaint is something I knew could be an issue (and one, possibly small, reason to go with the Rift) - putting earbuds on after the headset is on. It sounds like it would be so simple, but you need to make sure the earbud cords go behind the main cords, so they don't get pulled out by said cords. If you are using a headset then it is a little easier since the headset is just one big piece/item, but then you have a nice long cord from that to figure out. Its just not totally optimal.

That's just a convenience thing, though, and I'm sure I'll get better at getting the headset on/off. My wife actually told me I was being ridiculous when I complained about it, so I'm probably overreacting . Other than that, I'm very happy with the Vive versus my expectations on the Rift. Room scale is just amazing and I got a pretty good workout (relative to sitting in my chair) playing Hover Junkers, crouching down, leaning, spinning, shooting in two directions, reloading, etc. etc. Face sweat is a real thing in VR, so a nice VR Cover or extra facial interfaces to wash frequently would be a good idea.

Can anyone comment on the weight of the headset? Do you find it heavy after a while? My friend is considering canceling his pre-order due to him hearing that people said its heavy.

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I don't think its too heavy. As long as the straps are adjusted properly then the bulk of the weight is spread out on your head, front to back. It is slightly front-heavy, as expected, but it doesn't bother me. This is coming from someone with a Rift pre-order as well (hopefully being delivered soon) and I was really, really looking forward to the nice design and ergonomics of the Rift. I may not even open up my Rift at this point, the Vive is probably good enough from a weight/ergonomics standpoint. I say good enough because the Rift will probably be better, but I'm not sure at what point it really matters that much. I've been playing Hover Junkers and dodging, weaving, crouching, etc. without an issue. In fact, the biggest problem I have is with the earbuds pulling out of my ears because the cords get tugged just a bit while moving around.

Besides the things you've already touched on, do you have any other gripes or annoyances with it? Or things that you were surprised by that you didn't expect?

I had watched a fairly critical (or maybe just realistic?) review of the Vive-Pre on Youtube last night and it honestly got me thinking about canceling my pre-order.

I mean, the device does sound really badass! I absolutely want to try it out but I have a feeling that I'll be underwhelmed with it and, after a few months, the novelty will wear off and It'll collect dust.

A few of the concerns are

1. The Cords- Seems to be universally complained about and prone to getting rolled over/tripped on/etc. I know that there is no way around that at the moment, but it does add to the cumbersome-ness. Also the placement (above the strap) doesn't seem very well thought out. Not just on the headset, but also with the lighthouses.

2. Software bugs- While he claimed that it was mostly OK, the reviewer did complain about various crashes, disconnects and other stuff which I can see being really annoying if you have to remove all the gear to fix the problem. Again not a deal breaker but the I can see how it could get a little frustrating if it's something that happens often.

3. Resolution- Reviewer said that it really surprised him how low the resolution actually was... but within a few hours had completely forgotten about it? But he did stress that, in a FPS for example, trying to make a shot at a few hundred yards is about the equivalent of hitting a single pixel. It makes sense but I guess I was hoping that it wouldn't be anything terribly noticeable.

4. Games? It seems that the vaaaaast majority of 'games' are more or less tech demos at this point. Are there any actual games that really benefit from this (besides horror lol)? I feel like it would be pretty disappointing to pay 800.00 for a headset with next to no software for it... when I can wait a year, probably get a headset much cheaper and with better specs.... and a larger VR library.

5. This wasn't brought up in any review that I saw, but does it work well with glasses? Or do you even need to wear glasses with it? I'm nearsighted so I'm hoping I wont need them... but if I do, I have concerns about the comfort

With all that said, part of me is saying "screw it... just keep it". Even if gaming on it is slow to take off, I can see it being a really cool device for more than just games.

On the subject of glasses, I'm near-sighted too but what has surprised me is that there's not a whole lot of difference for me with or without glasses. I've been playing perfectly well without them.
I do have very minimal frames which easily fit inside the headset (even with the lenses set as close as possible to my face). Speaking of which, I thought that adjustment was supposed to be a focus control like on the GearVR, but it doesn't seem to affect the focus at all, just moves the lens presumably to make more space for glasses, at the cost of reduced fov.

1. The Cords- Seems to be universally complained about and prone to getting rolled over/tripped on/etc. I know that there is no way around that at the moment, but it does add to the cumbersome-ness. Also the placement (above the strap) doesn't seem very well thought out. Not just on the headset, but also with the lighthouses.

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Although it's thick and occasionally gets slapped out of they way, the cord never disrupts my immersion nor would I say I get annoyed.

2. Software bugs- While he claimed that it was mostly OK, the reviewer did complain about various crashes, disconnects and other stuff which I can see being really annoying if you have to remove all the gear to fix the problem. Again not a deal breaker but the I can see how it could get a little frustrating if it's something that happens often.

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Audioshield crashed on me a few times. I'd say a couple times a day, I'd get some tracking issues that quickly get resolves when I raise my arms/controllers up. I'm willing to bet this could get resolved if I re-calibrate my room since I rushed through that process in my eagerness to jump in.

3. Resolution- Reviewer said that it really surprised him how low the resolution actually was... but within a few hours had completely forgotten about it? But he did stress that, in a FPS for example, trying to make a shot at a few hundred yards is about the equivalent of hitting a single pixel. It makes sense but I guess I was hoping that it wouldn't be anything terribly noticeable.

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The low resolution is absolutely noticeable, at least initially. The kicker, though, is that you never think about resolution after a few seconds of immersing yourself in VR content. Aiming feels great, haven't had any issues.

4. Games? It seems that the vaaaaast majority of 'games' are more or less tech demos at this point. Are there any actual games that really benefit from this (besides horror lol)? I feel like it would be pretty disappointing to pay 800.00 for a headset with next to no software for it... when I can wait a year, probably get a headset much cheaper and with better specs.... and a larger VR library.

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90% of my library are indeed tech demo-ish but there are several such as Budget Cuts and Hover Junkers that are well polished.

5. This wasn't brought up in any review that I saw, but does it work well with glasses? Or do you even need to wear glasses with it? I'm nearsighted so I'm hoping I wont need them... but if I do, I have concerns about the comfort

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You can use the Vive with glasses comfortably. I am near-sighted as well, thankfully you won't need them.

So how many people here are getting dead pixels? Been seeming posts here and there around the web of people getting 1-4 dead pixels and HTC/Vive saying call back in a week or 2, they don't have any support information for that yet. We all know Valve's support for steam is non-existent, so how will they do with Vive issues? Dead pixels on an HMD setup would be the ultimate killer, I think any company will have to have a zero dead pixel policy for returns or this is going to suck. I've been leaning towards the Vive recently but I'm cautious on their support end..

I agree a dead pixel policy of anything more than 0 would be an epic fail on their part. They are probably just trying to fill backorders right now as to why they told people to check back in a week or two. It's one of those quandaries where is it better to replace the unit of the guy who's hmd is working but with a defect or fill the order of the person who doesn't even have one yet first. Is there anything in the return policy that mentions dead pixels? I would be interested to know.

Edit: Decided to talk to a Vive rep thru the chat service on their main site. What a bunch of idiots. They never directly answered my questions about screen issues, except to say that if theres something wrong thats not supposed to be to send it in and someone will test it to see if theres any issues. Even though I laid out how nearly every site that sells some sort of display has pixel policies that range from 0-7 all they could say was maybe.

Edit: Decided to talk to a Vive rep thru the chat service on their main site. What a bunch of idiots. They never directly answered my questions about screen issues, except to say that if theres something wrong thats not supposed to be to send it in and someone will test it to see if theres any issues. Even though I laid out how nearly every site that sells some sort of display has pixel policies that range from 0-7 all they could say was maybe.

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I couldn't get anything done with their web chat. You really need to call them for maximum effectiveness, they are actually helpful via the phone.

One last thing, how is watching movies on it? I could honestly see that being a major use case for me if the quality is decent enough. Having a virtual theater to yourself sounds cool in theory

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I've tried few videos with Virtual Desktop + VLC, and I do like the home theater mode (big screen in a virtual room).

"Decent enough" would be rather subjective due to resolution. Unlike in games where devs play to the strengths of HMDs and you are more immersed/distracted by other things, with movies pixels are very obvious. But you do have a personal movie theater with a giant screen

Can't wait for next gen.

For now, I'll just have to try watching few movies fully in Vive, maybe strong preference one way or the other will emerge.

I've tried few videos with Virtual Desktop + VLC, and I do like the home theater mode (big screen in a virtual room).

"Decent enough" would be rather subjective due to resolution. Unlike in games where devs play to the strengths of HMDs and you are more immersed/distracted by other things, with movies pixels are very obvious. But you do have a personal movie theater with a giant screen

Can't wait for next gen.

For now, I'll just have to try watching few movies fully in Vive, maybe strong preference one way or the other will emerge.

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thanks for the response! While on the topic of movies, since VR HMD's are stereoscopic, is is possible to watch SBS 3D movies on it? I'm guessing probably not, because of the lenses and how close it sits to your face, but still thought I'd ask.

I honestly don't know why anyone would get a Rift over a Vive at this point (assuming price isn't an issue). The controllers and room space alone seem to make it a much more compelling experience

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Because as of right now most "real" games that take advantage of VR are cockpit experiences that can be used with a controller. As cool as the Vive's room space/motion controls are there really isn't anything that takes advantage of it that wouldn't be considered a tech demo or casual game. By the time we start seeing actual, full fledged games for this tech the Rift's controllers and sensors will be available. My reasons for going with the Vive have only a little to do with the motion controllers or room space (though they are an awesome bonus).

Don't get me wrong I think being able to do the seated stuff as well as show off the motion stuff is great but there are plenty of people who just want a headset for games like Elite and Project Cars and don't want to shell out another $200 just yet. I was in that boat but I found out that the Oculus wasn't compatible with my setup without having to unplug my PC from my receiver to plug in the headset every time I wanted to use it while the Vive is.